Seeing Stars
by hayes112
Summary: Trakeena is after Jo, and she can't figure out why. Hopefully her new friends can help her. slight LeoxOC. I do Not own Power Rangers.  This is my first story...be nice?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Joey sat in the dark cell, shivering. She hated the dark. Most people grew out of their childish fears, but at seventeen, Joey was still terrified.

"Someone please, help me." She whispered as she stared out at the stars through the small barred window, wishing for daylight. She heard a clatter as a chunk of bread was shoved through a slot in the door.

"Dinner." She heard. She had been captured about five years ago from her home planet, and she still didn't know who her captors were or what they looked like. She remembered the day clearly.

Her twelfth birthday had been going wonderfully. She had gotten a new bow and arrow for her birthday and she and her father were going to test it out in the woods nearby. She had just gotten her first kill, a small rabbit, when the earth began shaking. Suddenly her whole town was running towards her, including her father. She saw something chasing after them, but was too short to see over anyone's heads. Whatever it was, her father recognized the danger and pushed her forward, following the other townspeople. Then something grabbed her by the back of the shirt.

"Jo!" Her father cried out.

"Daddy!" She yelled, before the creature put a hand over her mouth.

"Jo! Joey! I'll come back! I'll look for you! I promise!" Her father yelled as the crowd drug him in the opposite direction.

Joey sighed. She could still hear the words embedded in her memory. Her captor whispering into her ear,

"Sorry, kid. Daddy's not saving you this time," He said, pulling her farther and farther away from her Father, "We have special plans for you."

And plans they had. Torturing her for information about things she had never heard of.

Her first day in the prison, there were some people that were kind to her, assuring her that five super heroes called Power Rangers would save them all soon. But her captors soon isolated her from the other prisoners.

It had been five years and no one had come for her. Not her father, nor any Power Rangers.

Pulling herself back into reality again, Joey lay down on the floor, taking a bite of the hard bread, but sat up again when she heard cheering coming from the other prisoners. Slowly, she walked towards her door, almost afraid of what she would see. Some of the more sadistic prisoners who had been trapped longer enjoyed seeing new people come in, or watching them walk to be executed. Joey, on the other hand, hated it.

Looking through the slot of her door outside, she saw five people in different colored suits with helmets opening up cell doors. She recognized their descriptions immediately from the rumors and smiled, knowing that these people could possibly be the power rangers. Whoever they were, these heroes would save them all. Her smile faded, though, when she remembered how her own cell door purposefully blended into the wall. She didn't think even the rangers could find her in there. Sadly, she walked back to her corner by the window and sat down on the floor.

"Wait! Guys! I think there's something here!" She heard someone call.

"That's where the little girl is held. I don't know why they keep her.

She doesn't do any labor like the rest of us. She must have some sort of information." She heard one of the prisoners say.

"Come on guys, help me get this door open!" a third voice said. Joey ran towards the door.

"I'll help! It opens toward you! I'll push, you guys pull!" She called.

"Okay!" the voice said.

Joey broke a sweat as she tried to push the door open. After a while it opened about two inches.

"It's no use. Just go. I'll be okay." Joey called.

"Not a chance." Said the voice.

"But Leo, Trakeena and the sting wingers will be here any minute! We have to get these people out of here." She heard a female voice say.

"Fine! Don't worry kid. We'll be back soon. Just hang on." The voice told her. She slumped as her father's words echoed in her head.

"Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it." She muttered. A few minutes later, though, she heard someone running toward her.

"Are you okay? Come on, we have to get this door open." Joey was startled.

"You came back?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. I told you I would, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but..." she was cut off.

"No time. The other rangers are helping the prisoners escape. Now all we need to do is get you out." He said. He began pulling at the door. Joey nodded, not thinking that he couldn't see her, and started pushing. The door opened up just enough for her to squeeze through when a woman came towards them.

"Not so fast, Red Ranger." She said. Joey looked at her rescuer, noticing he was The Red Power Ranger.

"The child is mine." Joey recognized the voice of her captor and felt almost relieved to put a face on her.

"You'll have to get through me first, Trakeena!" The ranger said. Trakeena charged, and Joey watched them battle until she couldn't take it anymore. The red ranger was sprawled on the ground, and Trakeena was taking aim.

"Stop!" Joey screamed. She ran in front of the ranger, spreading her arms out.

"Leave him alone!" Trakeena just laughed and fired. There was a blinding light and a tug on her arm, pulling her to the ground. She felt sparks hit her eyes and screamed in pain.

"It's okay, I got you." She heard the Ranger say. He helped her stand and lead her as they ran. She held her eyes closed. They burned. Suddenly she felt something burning hit her in the back.

She screamed before she blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jo woke up with a bright light shining in her eyes.

"Ah!" She yelped. Looking around she could tell she was in some sort of medical wing. There were beds and strange equipment everywhere and everything looked white and sterilized.

"Hi. I'm Kendrix." A blonde girl sitting in front of her said. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.

"I...I can't count." Joey said.

"Really? Okay, then copy me." She said. Joey held up three fingers like the girl. "Okay, now close your right eye and do the same." Joey did as she was told and held up five fingers, imitating her. "Okay. Now close your left eye." Again, Joey did as she was told, but this time, she couldn't tell how many fingers Kendrix was holding.

"I can't see. It's all blurry." Joey told her, panicking.

"Oh, no. I was afraid this would happen. It seems as though you are partially blind in you right eye." She said apologetically.

"You also have extensive burn wounds on your back from the explosion that knocked you out and some small burns on your face. Leo said that Trakeena shot out a light when he was aiming for you and the sparks hit you in the face. That's most likely what cause the small burn marks and the blindness." She explained.

"Leo?" Joey was confused.

"Yeah. He's the one that saved you. You guys got pretty lucky in my opinion; of course he turned out quite a bit better than you."

Joey just nodded. All of this information was too much. She didn't know what to do with it.

"So, any questions?" Kendrix asked. _When am I going home?_ Joey thought, but she just shook her head.

"Okay. Then I'll leave you to get some rest." She got up and walked away, leaving Joey to her thoughts. It only took a few minutes for her to fall asleep.

What seemed like minutes later, Joey woke up to people talking outside the door.

"Leo you can't see her. She's asleep." A boy's voice said.

"Then wake her up." The voice was familiar.

"We can't. She needs her rest. Besides, Kendrix would kill me." The other voice said again.

"Oh, come on. I just want to talk to her. One of the prisoners said she might have information that Trakeena wants, and I want to know what it is." It was Leo, The boy who rescued her.

"And if you agitate her like you do everyone else, her blood pressure will shoot up, and she'll be knocked out again. Not to mention the fact that maybe she doesn't want to tell us. It doesn't seem like she ever told Scorpius. Now stay here. I've got to give her the pain medication." A new voice said.

The door opened and the blonde girl from earlier, Kendrix, walked in. She seemed surprised to see her awake.

"Hello. I'm just going to give you a shot, so your injuries don't hurt so much. It'll feel like a pinch, but it'll only be for a second." She promised. Joey nodded and Kendrix pulled out a needle. It hurt quite a bit more than she had originally said it would, but Joey bit her tongue.

"There. All done." Kendrix smiled and threw away the needle.

"I'd like to talk to him. Leo, I mean. I want to ask him something." Joey said suddenly. She hadn't planned on asking.

Kendrix looked just as surprised as Joey felt. "Okay then. I'll send him in." She smiled and walked out the door. A moment later a boy walked into the room.

"Kendrix said you had a question for me?" He said to her, pulling over a stool and sitting next to her bed. Joey nodded and sat up, wincing at the pain in her back. Leo had dark hair and greenish colored eyes. He also had a bandage on his left arm and a Band-Aid on his cheek.

"You have questions for me too. You can go first." Joey said. Leo grinned.

"Okay then, kid. How about we start easy. What's your name?" He asked.

"Josephine. Everyone calls me Joey. Tell anyone my real name and I'll kill you, ranger or not." Joey said seriously.

Leo laughed. "Okay, okay. So where're you from?"

Joey shrugged. "Our planet didn't have a name. We just called it home. I think I heard some scientist call it MO-867 once. But I'm not totally sure. I lived in a small village. There was a big lake nearby and a forest." Joey explained.

Leo nodded. "Okay. Cool. Question three. What information does Scorpius want from you?" His smile disappeared and he became totally serious.

Joey became afraid. "No." she said.

"No?" He was confused.

"No. I'm not telling you." She said firmly.

"Look, Joey, It's okay. You can trust me. Scorpius and Trakeena can't get you here, and we're not going to hurt you. You're perfectly safe." He reached to put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched away. He looked thoughtful.

"How long were you in there?" He asked.

"Long enough." She muttered.

He waited patiently.

"Five years. They invaded my planet the day I turned twelve. Been there ever since." She told him. Then looking up she said, "My dad said he was going to come for me, but he didn't. Why didn't he come? He promised he would and he didn't! And 'cause I was stuck there they hurt me, every day, all 'cause they wanted to know about some stupid Stars of the Zodiac. I don't even know what a zod-" Joey slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she had said too much.

"Stars of the Zodiac? What are they?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. That's what I kept tellin' them. They didn't believe me though." She muttered.

Leo nodded. "Okay. I think you ought to get some rest. I'll see you later kid." He said, standing up and walking away.

"Wait!" He turned around. "You believe me, right? You believe me when I say I don't know about the Stars?" She asked.

He looked at her for a moment, as if deciding.

"Yeah. I think I do." He said, before walking away. Joey sighed and rolled over, closing her eyes.

She had her first dream in years. She was back on her home planet, wandering through the forest like she had so many times before.

"Jo." She looked up to see her father smiling down at her.

"Daddy? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"There's no time. You must let the Power Rangers help you. They can be trusted. You need to find the Stars of the Zodiac that are rightfully yours. They're hidden with your mother. Being my only child, you inherit them when I am gone." He told her.

Joey shook her head.

"Then they're not mine. They're yours." She said.

He shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry. Scorpius got to me before I could save you. Now, I leave you in the hands of the Power Rangers." He hugged her.

"But, Daddy, you're right here. I don't understand." She complained.

"I'm sorry. I must go. I love you." He faded away slowly into the forest.

Joey chased him.

"No! Daddy! Stop! Don't Go! DADDY!"

She screamed and sat up. She wiped sweat from her face and tried to calm her breathing. She looked around. It was dark, too dark for her comfort. She took deep breaths and lay down on her side, curling up into a ball.

_It was just a dream. He's not dead. He's out there looking for you. You have nothing to do with any kind of zodiac. It was all just a dream._ She thought to herself halfheartedly.

"Who am I kidding? I have to find Leo and the other Rangers." She whispered as she stood up, grimacing at the aches all over her body.

She walked down the hall slowly and quietly.

"Leo? Kendrix? Anybody here?" She called quietly, then a little louder.

"Leo. I need to talk to you." Suddenly a door slid open.

She bit her hand to muffle a scream and jumped to the side. A tall Asian boy stepped out yawning. He looked around.

"I could have sworn I heard someone out here." He said to himself. Joey stepped out of the shadows, so as not to frighten him.

"That was me. I need to talk to the Power Rangers. It's really important." The boy looked her over.

"You're Joey. The girl Leo saved. I'm Kai." He said, holding out his hand. Joey looked at him, unsure.

"I need to talk to Leo." She said. Kai slowly put his hand down and nodded.

"Come on in." He said. She followed him into the room.

"Leo. Visitor." He said. She heard someone groan unhappily and roll over.

"Whoa!" He jumped when he saw her.

"Geez, kid. Scared me half to death. You look like a ghost." Leo told her, standing up.

"I had a dream, about those stars, the zodiac ones. My dad was in it. He told me I had to find them. He said you would help." She didn't tell them about the part where he said he had died.

Leo stood up quickly and turned on a light. Joey let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"What exactly did he say?" He looked at her solemnly.

"He said they were with my Mom, but she died when I was only three. I don't get it, all this junk about zodiac stars, and them being hidden with dead people. It doesn't make any sense!" Joey was frustrated. She heard footsteps behind her and she spun around.

"Whoa, there kiddo. Watch those fists. Is this where all the racket's comin' from?" A black male in green pajamas looked around.

"Yeah. Sorry Damon. Can you go get Mike, Kendrix and Maya for me? The kids got some important news." Leo said.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever this new is it'd better be pretty important, waking me up in the middle of the night." Damon replied.

"It is. Just go get the others and I'll explain." Joey clenched her fists.

_Just talk about me like I'm not here, why don't you._ She thought, as Damon walked away.

Soon Kendrix and Damon, along with a man with dark hair, similar to Leo's, and a girl with brown hair wearing yellow, walked in. Leo was leaning on the counter and Joey was standing quietly behind him. The others either stood or sat on stools around the table.

"Guys I've got some news about Trakeena's new plan. She wants something called the Stars of the Zodiac. Has anyone heard of them?" He looked around. The girl in yellow stepped forward.

"I have. These twelve constellations are legendary, said to hold the power of the ancient Zodiac Spirits, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. These spirits take the form of different animals and share the Elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air, along with their own personal power. If Trakeena gets her hands on them, the entire universe is doomed." She said.

"Maya, are you sure?" Kai asked.

"No, she's right!" Joey stepped out of the shadows excitedly. "I can't believe I forgot about it! My favorite story when I was a kid was about the Twelve Warriors who gave their lives to destroy the Evil that tried to take over our planet! I can't believe it, how could I forget?" She groaned.

"Leo, who's that?" Mike asked.

"This is Joey. She's the girl I rescued from Trakeena's Prison. She's also the one who told me about the stars." Leo replied.

"Well, do we know where these Stars of the Zodiac are?" Damon asked.

"My Dad said that they were with my mom. But that doesn't make sense. She died twelve years ago." Joey told him.

"Well, where was you're mother buried. Maybe he buried the Stars with her." Kai suggested.

"No. My Mom was cremated and her ashes spread throughout the forest. Just like the rest of our family. Our family was connected to the Fire Stars. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. At least, that's what my dad told me." Leo gave her a sidelong glance.

"What exactly did you Dad say in your dream?" He asked. Joey shrugged.

"He said that the Stars of the Zodiac rightfully belong to me and that I need to find them. He also said that they were with my Mother, and that he was leaving me in the hands of the Power Rangers. He said that they'd help me. Then he told me he loved me" Joey's voice cracked, "and then he disappeared." She looked around at the group of strangers.

Leo stood up.

"So, who's ready to look for some stars?" He said, looking around. Everyone looked at Joey, who just looked at the floor.

"You don't have to-" She started to say.

"Yeah.'Course we'll help. Right guys?" she looked up at Mike, who put a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. Joey gave a small smile back as everyone nodded and shouted "Yeah!"

Suddenly Damon put a hand around her shoulders.

"Look kid. I'm all for helpin' you out. But you mind if the next time you wait to give us news like this until morning?" He told her grinning. Joey laughed. It felt foreign to her, but in a good way.

"Yeah. Yeah, no problem." She said, grinning widely now.

"Okay, kid. I think we'd better take you back to the Medical Wing." Leo said, leading her out of the room. As they walked down the hall, Joey looked up at him.

"I never got to ask you my question yesterday." She said. Leo smiled at her.

"Okay, kid. Shoot. What's your question?" He asked.

"I was just wondering...why'd you come back for me?" She asked him. They stopped outside the door of the Medical Wing.

"Because. I promised I would, right? I keep my promises. And besides, I wasn't going to leave an innocent girl with Scorpius. Shoot, I wouldn't leave anyone alone with Scorpius." He told her.

"Oh. I thought," she trailed off. Leo looked at her, waiting. "I thought you only came back 'cause I had information Trakeena wanted." She muttered, looking at her feet.

Leo laughed.

"Well, don't worry about it. I saved you because I wanted to save you." He poked her shoulder. "Not because I'm desperate to take out Trakeena. Even if I am." He laughed and opened the door.

Joey grinned and climbed into bed. Leo threw the blanket over her.

"Good night." She called sleepily as he turned the light off.

"Night, Jo." He whispered, closing the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Someone was shaking Joey awake.

"Joey. Joey, wake up." They whispered.

"Damon, Leo, what are you guys doing?" Another voice said.

"We're waking her up. The doc said she could leave, so we're gonna show her the new room she's sharing with Maya and Kendrix." A third voice said.

"At seven o'clock in the morning? That girl's had a tough time these past few days. You ought to let her sleep." Joey groaned and sat up.

"Seven o'clock? Why? It couldn't wait?" She mumbled, looking around at Leo, Damon, Mike and Kai.

"Nope, sorry kid." Leo said, grinning.

"Come on." Damon grabbed her hand and pulled her out of bed. The five of them walked quickly through the halls. They stopped at a door.

"Ready?" Leo asked.

"Yeah. Sure." Joey said. Damon knocked on the door and it slid open to reveal Kendrix and Maya, grinning in the doorway.

"Hi, Joey. Come on in." Kendrix said. Maya took her hand from Damon and pulled her gently inside.

"This is your bunk." She said, pointing to the top bunk. Joey grinned, looking around the room.

"Wow. You live here?" She asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah. It's not much, but we figured it must be better than that hospital room."

Joey shook her head. "This is amazing." She said.

"We also took the liberty of getting you some new clothes. We didn't think that the jumpsuit you're wearing could be very comfortable." Leo said, handing her a bag.

Joey opened it and saw a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a black jacket. Joey smiled and shook her head.

"What's wrong, don't you like it? I told you we should've gotten the green shirt." Damon hit Leo on the shoulder.

"No. It's great. I just...why'd you do it?" Joey asked.

"Honestly?" 'Cause those clothes you're wearing are starting to stink." Damon joked. Joey rolled her eyes.

"The point is that you needed it. And we're going to take care of you until we find your home." Mike said. Joey smiled.

"Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate it." She told them.

"No problem. We're going to go get something to eat. See you girls later." Leo said, as he and the other boys left the room.

"We already made breakfast. Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Kendrix said.

"Like what?" Joey asked, sitting down at the table.

"Like your home planet. What kind of things did you like to do?" Maya asked. She and Kendrix sat down on either side of her.

"Well, me and my friends went hunting a lot. But that's because we had to get all the food for our village. My Father was one of the twelve elders of the village, even though he was only thirty or so when he was elected. He represented the constellation Aries. Each family has a specific constellation they are connected with. Ours is Aries. So along with that we are also connected with Fire, because Aries is a fire sign."

She told them stories from her childhood. Like the time her cousin held her upside down hanging from a branch of a tree. Or her oldest cousin's first kiss, and how she had made fun of him for months about it.

"Well, haven't you kissed anyone?" Kendrix asked.

"No, I was twelve when I was captured. Not a whole lot of romance opportunities when you're locked up in a cell for five years." Joey replied bluntly.

Maya put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The rest of the day was spent with Leo showing her around the base.

She watched the rangers' train, practiced reading, writing, and counting with Kendrix and Mike and when no one was looking, talked Kai into sparring with her. By the end of the day, she was so tired, that she forgot about dinner and fell asleep as soon as she lay down on her bed.

It was a dream. Either that or a memory.

She knew it wasn't real. But that didn't make it any less frightening.

She was sitting in that awful chair. The same one she had been stuck in everyday for five years. There was a bright light over her, shining in her eyes so that she couldn't see anything or anyone.

But she could feel the pain.

She could definitely feel the pain. She wasn't sure what they did to her, but whatever it was it was excruciating and endless.

Not stopping, no matter how much she begged and pleaded.

No matter how many times she told them she didn't know anything about the Stars.

Suddenly the whole room lit up. She could see the faces of her torturers. But as she looked around, she wished she had never known.

Her father was there, along with her family and friends from her home planet. Suddenly the room was filled with people. It was suffocating. She saw the power rangers as well.

The rest of the room was dark. All she could see was the faces of those she trusted laughing at her, cruelly.

She began crying, and as she watched Leo level a laser gun, aiming for her.

She screamed.

She sat up in bed, tears running down her face, breathing heavily. She hugged her knees as she tried not to make any noise.

The next morning, Jo got up early and made breakfast for everyone. It took her a while to find everything, but she eventually found what she needed to make a decent breakfast.

The smell of food seemed to wake all the rangers up.

"Dang, girl, where's you learn to cook like this?" Damon said, looking at the spread of pancakes, French toast, eggs, and other foods.

"I can't imagine Trakeena taught you how to cook."

Jo shrugged. "I dunno...I always cooked at home, since it was just me and my Dad. Eventually it just became a hobby..." Jo smiled slightly, remembering,

"He always made fun of me since I would bake when I had nightmares and couldn't sleep. Said he wished I had nightmares every night so he could have cake for breakfast every morning."

Her smile quickly disappeared as she remembered she would never see her dad again. She felt the tears coming and quickly turned and walked out of the room.

The oven timer went off and Kai hurriedly pulled out what was inside.

"It's a cake," he said.

"Do you think she had a nightmare?" Kendrix asked, looking over at Leo. He didn't answer. He was busy staring in the direction Jo had gone.

"I'll be right back guys," he said, leaving the room.

"I don't get it. Why is he so infatuated with this girl?" Kai asked. "Maybe he feels responsible for her. He did save her after all." Mike said. Maya laughed.

"Really guys? Isn't it obvious? He likes her." She said. She and Kendrix looked at each other.

"Boys." They said together, laughing.

Jo had found a bench in the park to sit on. It was supposed to rain today, so not very many people were out. Leo walked over and sat down beside her.

"We found your cake. It'll probably be gone by the time we get back," he said.

"That's okay." Jo replied. "I didn't want any anyway. I don't really like sweets." Leo looked over at her.

"What was the nightmare about?" he asked.

"Nothing important." She replied quickly. Leo raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well...at first it was just a memory. When Trakeena would...would try to make me tell her about the Stars. And then suddenly the lights turned on and I saw everyone," Jo couldn't stop the tears, "Family, friends, even you were there. You guys were... You were doing the stuff Trakeena always did to me...and you were laughing and you had your gun... you were gonna..." She broke off, unable to keep her voice steady.

"Oh, God..." Leo said quietly. "I swear, Jo, I'll never let them get to you again. Ever." He wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry quietly into his shoulder. She went stiff for a moment, not used to the kindness, but she gave in.

After a few moments she regained her composure.

"Sorry you had to see that..." She mumbled.

"It's fine. I don't mind. What do you say we go see if there's any food left? I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Leo grinned and pulled her up, walking back to the base. Jo smiled back and followed him.

They were near the entrance of the base when Leo's watch beeped. "Trakeena" he muttered. "Joey, I want you to go back you your room and stay there. You should be safe. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jo nodded and ran inside. On the way she ran into the other rangers.

"Where's Leo?" Kai asked.

"He's going to go fight Trakeena. I'm supposed to go to my room." Jo told him.

"You guys go with Leo, I'll stay with her." Mike said, turning back towards the girls' room. Joey followed him.

When they got to the room the two of them sat silently. After a few minutes Mike turned the TV on and turned it to the news so he could see how the rangers were doing before he started pacing back and forth.

Joey became uneasy as well and turned to the kitchen for comfort. After twenty minutes she already had bread in the oven and plenty of other foods made.

"Mike. Come eat something. Please." She said, walking towards him. She winced as she saw the rangers take a blow from Trakeena's latest monster.

She looked at Mike, who was looking longingly at the rangers. She knew he wanted to go help his younger brother and his friends.

"You should go," she said quietly.

Mike glanced at the girl, surprised. "What?"

Jo looked at him squarely. "Go help. I know you want to. And they look like they could use you." Mike shook his head.

"I can't. Leo would kill me if I left you here alone." He said.

"I can take care of myself. Leo needs you more than I do right now. Now go." She pushed him to the door.

"Okay...But don't move from this room." He said before turning and running down the hall. Joey Continued to cook as the rangers continued to fight.

"Aw, what a good little housewife." Joey would know that voice anywhere. It had been one of the few voices she heard the last five years.

"No... Trakeena..." Joey turned around.

Trakeena stood, smiling, slowly walking towards the young woman.

"Hello there. Miss me?" she asked as she cornered Joey against the wall. She raised her hand towards Joey.

There was a flash of light before everything went black.

The rangers ran back to the room. It was in shambles. Trakeena had definitely been there.

"Jo! Joey, you here? Joey?" Leo looked around desperately.

"You left her here on her own! You knew how badly Trakeena wanted her and you left her here anyway!" He turned angrily on Mike.

"Please, Leo, It's not his fault." Kendrix put a hand on his shoulder. Leo backed away quickly.

"I have to find her. I promised I wouldn't let them get her again." He ran out the door at a sprint. Mike slammed a fist on the counter.

"How could I be so stupid!" He cried out angrily.

"We have to go after him." Damon said, "He's gonna need our help."

The others nodded in agreement and started off in the direction Leo had gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The cell Joey was in was all too familiar to her. The cold hard cement, the suffocating darkness, and the loneliness. Especially the loneliness.

She felt around the floor in the back corner and felt the lines she had scratched in the floor. 1,827 in all.

She found a sharp rock, hidden beneath a loose stone. She had scraped a line in the floor for every day she had been stuck in that god-forsaken cell. Five years and three days.

She sighed and used the rock to scrape another line.

_I should have known she'd find me again._ Jo thought. Even the Power Rangers couldn't protect her forever. Not if they were going to protect the entire galaxy at the same time.

Joey wasn't angry with them for it. After all, she was the one who had told Mike to leave her at the base.

"Looks like I'm just gonna have to sit here until someone comes and gets me...If someone comes and gets me." She said to herself, curling up into a ball on the floor.

The rangers were aboard the Astro Megaship, searching for Trakeena's base where she was keeping her prisoners. Namely Joey.

"She could be anywhere in the Galaxy! We'll never find her at this rate." Damon sighed.

"We have to find her! Keep searching!" Leo commanded.

"Leo..." Kendrix whispered sadly.

"Guys, guys! Get over here, quick! I think I've located Trakeena's ship!" Kai said excitedly.

"Where?" Mike and Leo both jumped up.

"Straight ahead. We're almost there." Kai said. Leo looked out the window into the endless galaxy.

"We're coming Jo, just hang on." He whispered.

Joey looked up as the cell door opened. The red creature she had seen too many times grabbed her by the arm and brought her to another familiar room.

The bright light in her eyes that prevented her from seeing anything in the room. The room that haunted her, and probably would for the rest of her life.

"Long time, no see, girl." She heard Trakeena say.

"I'm still not going to tell you anything." Joey said stubbornly.

"Ah, well. I had a feeling you'd say that. That's all right. We'll make you talk." Joey cried out. The pain was excruciating. She screamed until her voice couldn't take it any longer, and even then she screamed silently, tears running down her face.

This was worse than before. Much, much worse. Trakeena must be desperate to know about the Stars of the Zodiac.

Just then a door slammed open, letting in a bright light in the room. Joey closed her eyes, thankful for the interruption of the torture.

"Give us back the girl Trakeena!" Joey's eyes flew open. The room was fully lit now. She saw the rangers standing ready to fight.

_Leo...He came back for me._ Joey thought.

"What, this girl?" Trakeena turned her to face the rangers before tossing her and the chair she was tied to against the wall.

"Jo!" Jo was stuck lying on her side, facing the wall so that she couldn't see anything that was going on. The more she struggled against the ropes around her wrists and ankles, the tighter they got. She could hear the fighting and could tell that the rangers were winning, but just barely.

Finally someone ran over to the chair and turned Joey onto her back. She looked up, only to see Trakeena looking down at her.

"I won't let you escape this time." she said.

"No! Get away from her!" Leo slashed at Trakeena with his Quasar Saber. She yelped in pain before disappearing all together.

"Dangit! She escaped again." Joey heard Kai say.

Leo quickly cut Jo's bonds. She tried to stand up, but it hurt too much to move.

"Jesus, Jo, what'd they do to you?" Leo said quietly. Carefully, he picked her up and he and the other rangers hurried to the ship. With every jostling move, pain shot up and down Jo's body. Jo bit her lip and held her body stiff; so as to not let Leo know how much pain she was truly in. As Leo laid her on the bed in the Astro Megaship, Kendrix rushed over.

"She needs medical attention now. I'll do what I can on our way back to base." She pushed Leo aside gently and loaded up a syringe needle with clear liquid.

As she inserted the needle into Joey's arm, she whispered soothingly, "Here you go, honey, you won't feel a thing. I promise."

The last thing Joey saw was Leo's blurring face hovering over her, looking worried before she fell asleep.

Leo looked her over, carefully studying every wound.

She had been beaten, for sure. There were bruises and broken bones. Also cuts and slashes, but none that could be made by a knife. Trakeena must have used some sort of magic, injuring her without touching her. She was still extremely underweight, emaciated from the last five years being tortured on that ship.

Kendrix and Maya gently pushed Leo out of the way to tend to her wounds.

"Almost all of these cut will be scars...poor girl won't ever be able to forget this..." Maya said quietly to Kendrix.

"Even if she didn't have scars, she would remember. It's too horrible to be able to be able to ever forget." Kendrix replied.

Leo silently vowed never to let anything like this happen to Jo ever again. He also promised himself that he would destroy Trakeena, and make sure she felt all the pain that Jo had felt all these years.

He pushed Joey's hair out of her face. "I'm so sorry..." he whispered. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

Mike set a chair down next to the bed for Leo to sit in.

"It was my fault. I left her. I know how you feel about her. I...I'm so sorry." He quickly turned around and left.

Leo sat down in the chair and held her hand. He wasn't going to move. At least, not until Jo woke up.

Jo was at her old hut, on her home planet. She looked around, seeing all the familiar items lying around. But something was different. She looked around; a bright light was coming from her Father's room.

Slowly, she walked in. She found the source of the light coming from inside his closet.

On the top shelf, the remainders of her mother's ashes were in a large pot, engraved with signs of their family. She had no idea her father had kept them.

She opened it slowly and twelve bright lights shot out. It got brighter and brighter, until everything was white.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jo sat up.

"I know where the Stars of the Zodiac are" she said out loud. Then she looked around.

No one was there, except Leo. He was holding on to her hand, his head down, fast asleep.

"Leo. Leo, wake up. I need you to wake up, Leo." She shook his shoulder. He lifted his head up slowly.

"Huh? Oh! Joey! You're awake! Oh, god, I'm so sorry. We never should have left you alone. I'm so sorry!" He jumped up and hugged her tightly.

Jo hissed in pain.

"Shoot, sorry Jo..." He began to let go, but Jo lifted her arms and hugged him back, burying her head in his shoulder.

"I thought I'd be stuck there forever...But you came for me. You saved me. Thank you." She mumbled into his shirt.

"Of course I came for you. You're one of us now. And besides...I really, really li-"

Jo jumped back.

"Oh my gosh! I almost forgot! I know where they are! The stars of the Zodiac! We need to get back to my home planet right away." Leo nodded.

"Okay, I'll get the others." He said.

Damon was piloting the Astro Megaship. "Alright. Heading straight for MO-867." They landed near a dense forest.

"I know where to go from here." Joey said.

"Then you lead the way." Kai told her. Jo nodded and began walking. They walked for nearly three hours; all the while Jo refused to show the rangers that she was still in pain.

Finally they reached a clearing.

It seemed to be the remnants of a small village that had been burnt down.

Jo's eyes filled with tears as she looked on at her home. It had been completely demolished, and she knew she would never see her family and friends again, but she continued on.

"My house is...was...over here." She led the Rangers to a collapsed hut. It seemed to be the only one that hadn't been burnt down, only collapsed.

"My dad's room was somewhere over here. Come on, let's dig. We have to find my mom's ashes."

As Jo walked over to the spot she had indicated, a bright light appeared from beneath the rubble. Slowly, she began to move the rubble out of the way. The rangers helped her with the larger, heavier pieces.

Finally, they found the large pot. It wasn't broken, but the ashes had spilled all over the ground.

Jo slowly picked up a handful, only letting a single teardrop fall. As the tear soaked into the ashes, twelve orbs flew into the air.

"Wow..." Damon breathed.

"We actually found them..." Maya whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Why thank you for finding these wonderful weapons for us!" Jo and the rangers spun around. Leo pushed Jo behind him when they saw Trakeena, Scorpius and a large group of sting wingers.

"Jo, I want you to get out of here. Take the stars and leave." Leo whispered.

"No." Jo said. "You guys will need the stars. I can fend for myself against sting wingers at least." She said.

"Alright guys, Let's Go Galactic!" Leo yelled.

The rangers morphed and attacked Trakeena and Scorpius.

"Magna Power!" Mike morphed as well, but he stayed back with Jo and fought off Sting Wingers. It was soon apparent that if the rangers didn't get help soon, there would be no hope for them.

"Guys the stars! Call them to you!" Jo called.

"Okay guys, ready?" Leo yelled as the rangers lined up together.

"Warriors of the Zodiac!" They yelled

"The Instinct of Leo and Aries!" cried Leo. The other rangers imitated him.

Kai, "The Speed of Pisces and Cancer!"

Damon, "The Strength of Taurus and Capricornus!"

Kendrix, "Knowledge of Aquarius and Scorpio!"

Then Maya, "The Heart of Virgo and Sagittarius!"

And finally Mike, "The Justice of Gemini and Libra!"

Leo's gloves grew sharp claws as a pair of spiraled ram horns grew from his helmet. A large Pincer-like weapon appeared in Kai's hand, as well as what looked like a pair of gills on his sides. Large bull horns appeared on Damon's helmet and he also received a large staff with a hammer on each end. Kendrix suddenly sprouted a large scorpions tail and gained a single pincer weapon similar to Kai's, but much larger. Maya's uniform now had a cape attached and a large bow appeared in her hands, complete with arrows. Mike was now holding two extremely large twin mallets, and all six rangers had extra armor on their uniforms.

Jo was in awe. She had heard stories all her life of these great powers, but she had never believed that they could actually exist. With their newfound powers, the rangers ran Scorpius off quickly before turning their attention to Trakeena.

"I believe I owe you something." Leo said darkly, walking towards her.

"No, Leo, we're the good guys." Kai protested.

"Revenge isn't the way to go. I though you knew that?" Mike yelled.

"She isn't worth it, Leo. She's nothing without Scorpius standing next to her anyway!" Kendrix added.

Leo ignored them.

"Please...Leo. Leave her alone..."

Leo turned and saw Jo standing in front of the rangers, her eyes pleading.

"But...I swore...For what she did to you..." He tried to explain. Jo walked forward and grabbed his hand.

"Some promises shouldn't be kept." She told him. Leo nodded and turned to Trakeena.

"Alright. I'll let you off. But I swear if I ever see you again-" before he could finish, Trakeena disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Leo powered down.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Well, it would seem that we have something that belongs to you." Kai said.

Each of the rangers, now powered down, held out two glowing orbs to give to Jo. She shook her head.

"I don't want them." she said.

"Why not? They're really powerful. And they belong to your family, so they're yours." Maya looked confused.

"You guys keep them. If I take them they'll sit in a pot until I pass them on to the next generation. I'd rather you guys used them to fight evil and save people." Jo explained.

The rangers looked at each other.

"Or, you could use them and fight alongside us. We could definitely use the help, with Trakeena and Scorpius still out there." Damon suggested.

"You mean it?" Jo asked, hopeful.

"Of course!" Kendrix shouted. The six rangers held out the orbs. One by one, they flew towards Jo, sinking into her skin and becoming part of her.

"Whoa. This is some intense power." She whispered before her entire body was engulfed in a white light. When the light died down, Jo was wearing a white suit and helmet with silver armor. The amour had black engravings from each of the Zodiac signs. Then there was another bright flash and the armor was gone, leaving Jo standing in front of the rangers.

"Well, this should be interesting." She said, smiling. Leo walked over and hugged her tightly.

"We couldn't have done it without you." he whispered.

"But...I didn't do anything..." She mumbled.

"My goodness girl! How thickheaded are you! The boy is completely head over heels in love with you! Now would you get on with the romance already!" Kendrix shouted, exasperated.

"Is that true?" Jo asked. Leo's face turned bright red.

"Well, uhm, I probably wouldn't go as far as love...but yeah, I like you a lot." he muttered. Jo grinned.

"Well, red ranger, it just so happens that I like you too." She said. He hugged her tightly again.

"Okay, well, as much as I hate to break up this love fest, I want to go home. A day of battling evil sure does make a person hungry." Damon piped up. The girls glared at him as they wiped tears from their eyes.

Jo's stomach grumbled.

"Well, I could go for a burger right about now. I'm starving..." Everyone laughed.

"Alright guys, time to head back home." Leo said with his arm still wrapped around Jo. The other rangers began to walk back towards the ship. Jo lingered, looking at her demolished home.

"Are you gonna miss it?" Leo asked her quietly.

"Of course. It was my home. But it's gone now, and there's nothing left to do except move on with my life. Besides, you guys are gonna need my help." She replied. Leo smiled.

"Come on, let's go home." The two of them walked back towards the ship, the sun and the past behind them.

The End


End file.
